Temple Terrace golfers embrace the sport's history by using wooden clubs

TEMPLE TERRACE, Florida -- In 1925, the Temple Terrace Golf Club hosted the Florida Open. Today, 88 years later, dressed in clothing from yesteryear, dozens of golfers returned to the Tampa Bay area to compete in the Third Annual Hickory Golf Championship.

Participants used hickory wooden clubs instead of modern day steel. Golf becomes more strategic without the comforts of modern technology. You can't hit the ball nearly as long anymore. The old-style clubs turn the sport back into a thinking man's game.

"After all, history is something we regret when we lose it," said Ewan Glen. "This is all part of keeping that history going."

Glen lives in Saint Andrews, Scotland and respects the history of the game. He traveled to Florida to compete in the tournament in Temple Terrace partly to honor the memory of how golf was passed down through the generations.

"Tiger Woods got into golf because he saw the likes of people like Jack Nicklas. Jack Nicklas got into golf because he saw Sam Snead. Sam Snead got into golf because he saw Bobby Jones," said Glen. "It's important to pay homage to the guys who went before, because without them we wouldn't have a game."

One of the fun parts of the day were the outfits. Golfers wore traditional attire form the early 1900s, complete with knee-high socks and sweater vests.

"When you go around dressed like this, people are looking at you in a funny way, but it's actually going back to tradition," said Paolo Quirici, a hickory golfer from Switzerland. "I think it's part of the game, really."